February 24, 2017

The Anaheim Ducks received a much-needed boost to their offense today, announcing that the club acquired right wing Patrick Eaves from the Dallas Stars in exchange for a conditional 2017 second-round draft pick originally acquired from Toronto in the Frederik Andersen trade.

Other outlets have reported that the pick could become a first round selection depending on the Ducks postseason performance, as well as the number of playoff games played by Eaves.

Eaves, 32, is in the midst of one of his better seasons. At the time of the deal, Eaves co-led Dallas with a career-high 21 goals (tied with Tyler Seguin) and ranked tied for fourth in the NHL with 11 power-play goals.

Eaves appeared in 59 games with the Stars this season, recording a career-high 37 points (21-16=37) with 16 penalty minutes (PIM). The 6-0, 200-pound forward also led the team in power-play goals, ranked third in points and power-play scoring (11-5=16), and second in shots on goal (154).

Selected by Ottawa in the first round (29th overall) of the 2003 NHL Draft, Eaves has collected 120-107=227 points with 198 PIM in 604 career NHL games with Ottawa (2005-08), Carolina (2007-09), Detroit (2009-14), Nashville (2013-14) and Dallas (2014-17). He has also appeared in 76 career Stanley Cup Playoff games with the Senators, Hurricanes, Red Wings and Stars, earning 9-10=19 points with 39 PIM.

In the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Eaves helped Carolina to the Eastern Conference Final, appearing in all 18 postseason games. He also recorded 3-3=6 points with a +3 rating in nine playoff games with Dallas in 2016, ranking third among team leaders in points-per-game (0.67).

Eaves led the United States to a gold medal at the 2004 World Junior Championship after collecting 1-5=6 points in six tournament games. He went on to be named the Hockey East Player of the Year in 2004-05 after three seasons with Boston College.

Kings to run operations for Berlin Eisbaren Hockey

This week the Los Angeles Kings announced that they will now oversee all operations of Berlin Eisbaren Hockey.

Eisbaren Berlin of the German Ice Hockey League, and the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League are owned and operated by AEG Sports. The Kings will now begin leading all hockey operations and administrative matters, directing the day-to-day leadership of Managing Director Peter John Lee. Lee will report directly to LA Kings President, Business Operations and Hockey Hall of Famer Luc Robitaille.

“The results the last few years in Berlin have not been the championship standards that we all expect,” said Robitaille. “It became clear that our relationship needs to go beyond collaboration and move to a complete connection to ensure the team and organization has what it needs to return this club to the type of team our fans expect and have demonstrated passionate support for.”